Virology
TWiV 437: Kathy’s new spindle virus
By Vincent Racaniello | | This Week in Virology
The TWiVsters reveal new giant viruses that argue against a fourth domain of life, and discovery of viruses in the oceanic basement. You can find TWiV #437 at microbe.tv/twiv, or listen below. Click arrow to play Download TWiV 437 (63 MB .mp3, 104 min) Subscribe (free): iTunes, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV!
Viruses under the sea
By Vincent Racaniello | | Basic virology, Information
Viruses infect every living organism on the planet, but not every habitat has been explored for their presence. The igneous ocean crust had not yet been examined for viruses, but seek and ye shall find: there are plenty of viruses under the seas. The oceanic basement is an enormous ecosystem that lies at the bottom of …
TWiV 436: Virology above Cayuga’s waters
By Vincent Racaniello | | This Week in Virology
At Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, Vincent speaks with Susan, Colin, and Gary about the work of their laboratories on parvoviruses, influenza viruses, and coronaviruses that infect dogs, cats, horses and other mammals. You can find TWiV #436 at microbe.tv/twiv, or listen below. Click arrow to play Download TWiV 436 (71 MB .mp3, 98 min) Subscribe (free): iTunes, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV!
Forget the fourth domain of life
By Vincent Racaniello | | Basic virology, Commentary, Information
When giant viruses were discovered – with genomes much larger than any previously seen – some suggested that they had descended from a fourth domain of life (the current three are bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes). Part of the reason for such a claim was the finding of homologs of bacterial and eukaryotic genes, including molecules involved …
TWiV 435: Two virus particles walk into a cell
By Vincent Racaniello | | This Week in Virology
The TWiVome discuss the blood virome of 8,420 humans, and thoroughly geek out on a paper about the number of parental viruses in a plaque. You can find TWiV #435 at microbe.tv/twiv, or listen below. Click arrow to play Download TWiV 435 (73 MB .mp3, 121 min) Subscribe (free): iTunes, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV!
The purity of plaques
By Vincent Racaniello | | Basic virology, Information
The plaque assay – my favorite assay in the world – is a time-honored procedure to determine the number of viruses in a sample, and to establish clonal virus stocks. The linear relationship between the number of infectious particles and the plaque count (illustrated; image credit) shows that one infectious particle is sufficient to initiate infection. Despite the …
David Tuller
Trial By Error: Claims on Exercise for Long COVID Were “Overly Assertive,” Agree Meta-Analysis Authors
By David Tuller, DrPH *This is a crowdfunding month at UC Berkeley. If you’d like to support my work, the link is here. I posted two days ago that a Lancet journal, eClinicalMedicine, had just published a letter of mine, as well as an unsatisfactory corrigendum to the study I had criticized. That study, “Effects of …
Trial By Error: Lancet Journal Publishes My Letter Challenging Claims on Exercise and Long COVID
By David Tuller, DrPH *This is a crowdfunding month at UC Berkeley. If you’d like to support my work, the link is here. *UPDATE: The journal has now published, in addition to the corrigendium, a response from the authors in which they acknowledge my concerns. Last year, eClinicalMedicine, a journal in the Lancet stable, published an …
Trial By Error: Article in New Scientist Questions Value of Exercise for Long COVID (and quotes me)
By David Tuller, DrPH *This is a crowdfunding month at UC Berkeley. If you’d like to support my work, the link is here. ********** When it comes to exercise and Long COVID, investigators have routinely claimed success for their interventions–and many news articles have followed their lead in covering the issue. Most reporters don’t have the …
Trial By Error: Pushback Against Psychologizing on BBC and in Medical Journal
By David Tuller, DrPH *This is a crowdfunding month at UC Berkeley. If you’d like to support my work, the link is here. ********** BBC Radio 4 highlights criticism of interview with neurologist and author Suzanne O’Sullivan In March, neurologist Suzanne O’Sullivan spoke on a BBC Radio 4 podcast called Radical, hosted by journalist Amol Rajan. …
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Trial By Error: Two Interviews–My Latest Appearance on “Tub Talks with Damon”; Julie Rehmeyer on her NYT “Modern Love” Piece
By David Tuller, DrPH *This is a crowdfunding month at UC Berkeley. If you’d like to support my work, the link is here. ********** Once again, I get into Damon’s tub “Tub Talks with Damon” is a series hosted by Damon Jacobs, a sex-positive therapist and advocate for gay men’s and queer people’s health. And yes, …
Trial By Error: How Many Awful Papers Can Trudie Chalder Produce?
By David Tuller, DrPH *This is a crowdfunding month at UC Berkeley. If you’d like to support my work, the link is here. How many bad papers can Trudie Chalder, King’s College London’s factually and mathematically challenged professor of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), churn out? The woman’s name seems attached to an inexhaustible supply of scientific …
Trial By Error: How Many Awful Papers Can Trudie Chalder Produce? Read More »